Primer on Bioproducts - BIOCAP Canada

Social and PolicyConsiderationsThe social impacts of various industrialbioproducts are far from known. An importantconcern for some, such as the CanadianInstitute for Environmental Law and Policy, isthe absence of a public forum in which thesocial merits and risks of bioproducts andbioproduct technologies can be adequatelyevaluated and debated.Outstanding social questions include whetherbioproducts will have a positive or negativeimpact on rural communities. The USDepartment of Energy argues that sincebiological resources used to fuel and feedbioproducts industries are found mainly inrural areas and the hinterlands, bioproductsand a biobased economy can be expected tobenefit rural communities. Similarly,developing countries, whose economies relyheavily on one or more of these resources,could stand to benefit.Some researchers, however, including AuburnUniversity sociologist Conner Bailey, believethese potential benefits for rural areas raise thespectre of industrial control of agricultural andforested land to grow biomass as feedstock.Dynamic rural communities could become oneindustrytowns, subject to the same issues andvulnerabilities as other single-industry townsthroughout North America.The fact that land-use planning often takesplace at a local, rather than a regional ornational level further complicates this problem.According to Bailey, local authorities may missthe wider implications of large-scale industrialuse of their lands. On the other hand, industryfaces difficult hurdles attempting tosimultaneously satisfy the various interests andlevels of government involved in planningprocesses.Ethical ConsiderationsThe development of bioproducts — as the resultof new technologies or existing technologiesput to new uses — raises ethical and legalissues quite apart from their immediateenvironmental, economic and social consequences.These value-laden challenges influence therules, principles and ways of thinking used todetermine whether Canadian biotechnologypolicy is on a socially acceptable track.Resolving ethical issues is rarely simple. Forinstance, how can the benefits to human societybe balanced against the costs that might beimposed on the environment? The complexityand diversity of bioproducts adds anotherelement of difficulty to ethical decision makingin this area. The pace of change in bioproductsdevelopment is yet another confounding factor.PRIMER ON BIOPRODUCTS55